Poland: “Social and Work Integration of People with Autism”

On February 28th, 2007, the Polish Parliamentary Group on Autism, in cooperation with the SYNAPSIS Foundation as well as United Nations Development Program (UNDP Poland) is organizing in the Polish Parliament a debate, entitled: ?Social and Work Integration of People with Autism?. The Polish Parliamentary Group on Autism currently includes 23 members (from the lower and higher chamber of the Parliament) and aims at improving Polish legislation so that it takes into account the specific needs of people with autism. The debate’s aim is to convince members of the government that social exclusion of adults with autism is a serious problem in Poland. The Polish government currently does nothing to help adults with autism find their place in the labor market (both open and sheltered). About 80 policy makers and other experts are going to participate in this one-day long debate. From the Polish side – The Polish Minister of Work and Social Policy and the Government Plenipotentiary on the People with Disabilities have already agreed to participate actively in the debate. Since Polish Parliamentary Group on Autism wants to draw from experience from other countries, also experts from other countries have been invited. The key speaker of the debate is Angela Browning, vice-president of the British All Party parliamentary Group on Autism, which serves as an inspiration and model to emulate for the Polish Group. Angela Browning is also a vice-president of the NAS, National Autistic Society in the Great Britain, so she is also an expert in the government ? third sector cooperation.